This invention relates generally to the type of roll baling machine that is capable of continuously forming roll bales of crop material while moving across a field without stopping to discharge such bales.
An example of this type of roll baling machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,999, assigned to the same assignee as the present application. The disclosed machine includes a lower apron and a pair of upper aprons. The upper aprons cooperate with the lower apron to define front and rear bale forming chambers. While a completed roll bale is being wrapped with twine and discharged from the rear chamber, another bale is started in the front chamber. When the bale started in the front chamber reaches a predetermined size, it is transferred to the rear chamber where it is completed. This provides for continuous baling operation of the machine.
A drawback of the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,999 is that the distance a bale is transferred from the front chamber to the rear chamber is too great, thereby often resulting in damage to the bale during its transfer from the front to the rear chamber.
The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned drawback by providing an arrangement where a first one of the upper aprons cooperates with the lower apron to define the front chamber while the two upper aprons cooperate with each other to define the rear chamber. This arrangement significantly reduces the bale transfer distance between the front and rear chambers. The first upper apron has a first position where material is prevented from entering the rear chamber, a second position where a roll bale of predetermined diameter may be transferred from the front chamber to the rear chamber, and a third position where material is allowed to enter the rear chamber while a roll bale of at least said predetermined diameter is maintained in the rear chamber.